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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411008">A Matter Of Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauke_14/pseuds/Lauke_14'>Lauke_14</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hawaii Five-0 (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>10x22, First Kiss, Fix-It, M/M, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:15:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauke_14/pseuds/Lauke_14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After ten years of heartbreak, Danny's done with people walking out on him and it's about time he made that clear to Steve.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Danny Deserves Better</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Matter Of Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by the song A Matter Of Time by The Killers</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He knew this moment would come eventually. He knew that Steve needed this and although he was pretty much used to Steve leaving, it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye. It also didn't help that Steve had bought a one-way ticket, because buying a one-way ticket usually meant you were making a big, life-changing decision. Like moving to Hawaii to see your 8 year old daughter every two weekends or in Steve's case, leaving your best friend to roam around the mainland for God knows how long.</p>
<p>And Danny knew he shouldn't be making this about him. This was all for Steve's well-being (which he cared a lot about, thank you very much) after all but goddamn it, wasn't he allowed to be just a little bitter about the whole situation for once? With Grace on the mainland, Charlie growing up at the speed of light and Steve one foot out the door, it felt like everything that had been keeping him sane these past ten years was slowly slipping away from him.</p>
<p>"Hey, it's going to be okay," Steve told him as he reached out to gently rest his hand on top of Danny's knee. He gave his knee a gentle squeeze, one that was probably meant to be reassuring but it only managed to aggravate Danny more. He knew things would be okay without Steve... but that didn't mean he <em>wanted</em> things to be okay without Steve.</p>
<p>Danny huffed out a breath, refusing to look at Steve as he spoke: "It doesn't feel like it's going to be okay. It feels like my best friend's leaving me, that's what's happening."</p>
<p>"Danno..."</p>
<p>"Don't 'Danno' me, Steve," Danny sighed, continuing to stare out at the ocean. The sound of the waves rolling in, although he had hated that years ago, calmed him down and allowed him to think about his next words, "Ten years ago I had nothing, okay? No living space, no family, I barely saw Grace... But you were the only constant in my life. You told me that I wasn't alone and... I just wish you knew you aren't alone either."</p>
<p>"I <em>do</em> know that-" Steve began, his voice soft, but he snapped his mouth shut in surprise when Danny interrupted him.</p>
<p>"You do, huh?" Danny asked incredulously as he finally allowed himself to look at Steve again and after a short pause, added, "Then why do you keep leaving like this?"</p>
<p>Taken aback by Danny's tone, Steve crossed his arms in defense and if this were any other situation, Danny may have smiled at the familiarity of the move. "Like what?"</p>
<p>"Like you need to handle every single thing on your own, Steven!" Danny exclaimed, hands flailing in frustration, "We're a team, the two of us, ever since day one, whether we liked it or not. Yet, you disappear to God knows where without telling me as if you forget you even have a partner!"</p>
<p>Ignoring the hurt expression on Steve's features, Danny got up from his chair with a long sigh and looked out over the horizon once more. He relied on the waves to calm himself down once more but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Steve getting up from his own chair and what he said next was far from calming. "I don't tell you everything because you have Grace and Charlie to worry about! You ever think about that? I don't want them losing you in a situation I dragged you into."</p>
<p>Danny turned around to face Steve again, much slower than usual due to his cane but still surprisingly quick despite having taken a bullet to the chest the previous week. "You ever think about them growing up without their Uncle Steve?" he asked, seeing hurt flash through Steve's eyes once more and he knew he'd hit a weak spot in his partner, "Because I do, every time you leave on one of your lone wolf suicide missions or whatever, I think about what I'd have to tell them if you don't come back."</p>
<p>Steve huffed out a breath, looking down at the golden sand beneath their feet as he ran a hand through his hair. He hated it whenever the kids became part of their arguments, because Danny knew well enough that Steve loved Grace and Charlie as if they were his own. He didn't even have it in him to say goodbye to Charlie, knowing the boy would've been crushed. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head before he looked up at Danny again. "Why are you doing this? Bringing the kids into this like that... Why are you trying to make it so hard for me to leave?"</p>
<p>"Why am I-" Danny began before he cut himself off. He remembered how his dad used to tell him that 'actions speak louder than words, kid' and so he decided to show rather than to tell Steve why he was trying his damndest to keep him on the island.</p>
<p>Closing the distance between them, Danny reached up to grab Steve's face in his hands. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Steve maybe a little more aggressively than he'd intended to. He noticed how Steve tensed up at first but moments later, he felt how Steve relaxed into the unexpected kiss. The kiss only last seconds but both men were breathless when they eventually pulled away from each other.</p>
<p>"That's why," Danny panted, trying to catch his breath.</p>
<p>Bewildered, Steve watched how Danny turned away from him again. He hadn't realized he was reaching for his lips until his fingertips gently brushed over them, where he could feel the kiss still lingering. He had known Danny for over a decade, he knew him inside and out and probably better than Danny knew himself. Yet, he found himself completely at a loss as to why he hadn't known that part about his partner.</p>
<p>Needing answers, he moved to stand behind his best friend and rested a hand on Danny's shoulder. With a gentle tug, he coaxed Danny to turn around and face him,"Danny, why- why didn't you tell me?"</p>
<p>Danny shrugged, looking up into Steve's hazel eyes. "Because admitting you have feelings for your best friend isn't something you confess to them over a cup of coffee on the way to a crime scene, you schmuck," he answered with a dry chuckle and after a short pause, he added, "Besides, I wasn't planning on ever telling you anyway."</p>
<p>"Why not?" Frowning, Steve let go of Danny's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Because of this, Steve," Danny said, gesturing between them, "It was only a matter of time before you'd leave again and... I'm done with people walking out on me. Might as well watch you walk out on me as my best friend and not as my lover, save myself some heartbreak."</p>
<p>Steve sucked in a breath as Danny's words cut through him like knives, slicing open the old wounds from all the times someone had walked out on *him*. It hurt and he could only imagine how Danny felt, after everything he had gone through with Rachel. "How long have you felt this way?"</p>
<p>"6 years, 7 years? Something like that," Danny mumbled, returning his gaze to the sand below them.</p>
<p>"Jesus... Danny, I'm sorry."</p>
<p>"Don't be," Danny said quickly, whipping his head back up to look at his partner, "I'm the one who should be sorry: I just kissed you and declared my love for you two hours before you're leaving for the mainland. I shouldn't have done that."</p>
<p>Steve looked Danny in the eyes, his hands gently gripping Danny's arms to make sure he had Danny's full attention. "No. You should've, Danny. You should've done that <em>years</em> ago."</p>
<p>"Wh-"</p>
<p>Danny was interrupted by a pair of soft lips against his own and every coherent thought he had up until that moment flew right out the window. He couldn't help the quiet moan that escaped him as he melted into the kiss and if it hadn't been for Steve's broad hands on his biceps, Steve probably would have had to scrape him off the floor.</p>
<p>The kiss ended sooner than Danny had hoped but as Steve pulled away from him, he noticed that the need to breathe had been more present than he thought it had been. For the second time in as many minutes they stood mere inches away from each other, catching their breath. Danny hummed appreciatively as he felt Steve's hand coming up to rest on the back of his neck and Steve's forehead against his.</p>
<p>"I'm not walking out on you," Steve whispered, his voice barely audible above the sounds of the ocean, "Not now, not ever. Not after everything I put you through."</p>
<p>Danny lips curled up into a small smile. "What about your flight?"</p>
<p>Steve chuckled, "I think it'll make it to Los Angeles without me."</p>
<p>"And that kiss-" Danny began as Steve's arms slowly wrapped around his waist.</p>
<p>"We could've had so many more if you had just used your loud mouth to tell me you love me years ago," Steve told him, "because I love you too, Danno. More than you know and I hate that I didn't show you that sooner."</p>
<p>"Well, you're showing it now," Danny chuckled, resting his head against Steve's chest, "And that's more than I could've asked for."</p>
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